The present invention relates to a magnetic head device capable of recording magnetic signals simultaneously through a plurality of recording heads into a plurality of recording tracks laid oblique to a running direction of a magnetic tape, and a magnetic recording apparatus, and in particular to a magnetic recording apparatus for which a running speed of a magnetic tape and a rotation speed of a rotating drum are set so as to enable simultaneous recording of a plurality of tracks using a thin film multi-head having a plurality of gaps, and to record magnetic signals with the same track width.
There are increasing demands on larger recording density for recent thin film magnetic recording heads, aiming at increasing capacity of magnetic recording media, and there are more opportunities of adopting thin film magnetic recording heads suitable for narrowing the track width. With a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus of a helical scan system, capable of recording magnetic signals in an oblique direction with respect to the running direction of a magnetic tape, it is made possible to simultaneously record magnetic signals into a plurality of recording tracks, and to simultaneously reproduce magnetic signals from a plurality of recording tracks, by providing a plurality of recording heads and a plurality of reproduction heads to a rotating drum. The multi-head of this sort of magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus is configured as a recording device (thin film multi-head) having a multi-gap composed of thin film elements.
The thin film multi-head is described typically in Published Japanese Patent Application “KOKAI” No. 2002-216313 (paragraphs [0019] to [0033], FIG. 2) (Patent Document 1). The invention described in Patent Document 1, aimed at increasing recording density through multiplication of the thin film magnetic recording head, is configured so that, on a non-magnetic substrate having an insulating layer formed thereon, a magnetic recording head configured by stacking a pair of thin film magnetic poles, holding a predetermined gap in between, and a magnetic shielding layer, in this order, is provided, and further in the stacking direction, a magnetic shielding layer and a pair of thin film magnetic poles, holding a predetermined gap in between, are stacked in this order, wherein thus-stacked plurality of pairs of thin film magnetic poles are formed as being shifted in the direction nearly orthogonal to the stacking direction (width-wise direction).
The individual recording heads of the thin film multi-head are formed as being shifted from each other in the direction orthogonal to the direction of gap, and so that end portions of every pair of magnetic poles respectively overlap the adjacent magnetic poles as viewed in the stacking direction. This makes it possible to reduce track width of the recording tracks recorded on a magnetic tape, contributing to higher recording density.